Picking up the Pieces
by Pie for President '16
Summary: A story of love and heartbreak. What will Ron do when he learns he has been cheated on? Post Epilogue. Possibly canon compliant, we'll never know.
1. Chapter 1

Yes, another Harry Potter fanfic! I've been wanting to write a story like this for the longest time, though I haven't really been inspired to do so until recently.

This story involves infidelity, if you don't like people cheating on their spouses then don't read.

* * *

The First of April was a day of love, a day of joy, a day of pranking. A day that was most suitable for George Weasley, the owner of Weasley Wizard Wheezes and one of the best-known pranksters after the Marauders. It was also George's birthday, and he was born on this day forty years earlier. Twenty years ago, there was a pair celebrating: George and his twin brother, Fred. Fred, unfortunately, died just over a month after turning twenty.

George, however, was back to being his usual self. He wed his brother's ex-girlfriend; he knew that it's what Fred would've wanted of him and Angelina. Instead of spending the rest of their lives alone and pining for what they lost, they got together and started a family of their own. They had two wonderful children, Freddie and Roxie. Freddie was just like his namesake, the uncle he never met and only knew through stories told by his parents and family.

Freddie and Roxie were now Hogwarts students, like most of their cousins were. They both were Gryffindors, also like most of their cousins. Dominique was a Slytherin, Molly and Rose were both Ravenclaws. Only Lily, Hugo, and Louis were not at Hogwarts yet. The three youngest Weasleys were currently with their grandparents, as Ron, Ginny, and Bill were with their brother. Percy and Charlie were there as well. The six Weasley siblings were going out to celebrate George's fortieth birthday and to remember their lost brother who would have been forty as well.

The seven Weasley siblings-they knew Fred was there in spirit-were club hopping, something George had wanted to do even though Bill and Ginny had insisted they all were too old to be partying as if they were in their twenties. Also, the fact they all were parents to children as old as eighteen and as young as nine. But George didn't care, it was his birthday and this is what Fred would have wanted. Besides, in the wizarding world, he was only a quarter way to the average life expectancy: most pure-blood wizards and witches lived to 161.

"I should get home, I have a big meeting tomorrow; a very important meeting. Happy birthday, George. I will see everyone soon, I presume, good night." Percy said, turning and walking through the thick crowd and disappearing beyond the smoke.

"Who wants another round?" George shouted over the noise a few minutes later. He was the most inebriated of them all. Charlie, Ron, and Ginny weren't too far behind. Bill was the most sober of them all at the moment.

"I'm good." Bill put up his hands. "I should be getting home soon, Fleur will throw a fit if I'm home too late."

"Party pooper!" George cried, laughing as Charlie returned with a round of drinks.

"Bottoms up to George and Fred!" Ron raised his glass, waving it around haphazardly and downed the drink. Charlie, George, and Ginny did the same.

Bill watched his siblings with a pained expression. He had to get them out of there and soon. Charlie looked like he was going to pass out or puke at any second; Bill knew his closest brother had never been that good with alcohol. George was getting loud and obnoxious.

Just as that thought entered his mind, George climbed up on one of the benches and started singing tunelessly. He had two glasses in his hands and the liquids were splashing out and hitting people. The crowd began to disperse and the owner of the club rushed to try to get his brother down.

Ron and Ginny were the calmest out of all of them, even though they had quite a few drinks. They were sitting at a table by themselves, having appetizers and observing the crowd. Well, at the moment, they were watching George make a complete fool out of himself.

"Gerrof me, you sodding prick!" George shouted to the guards, and Bill knew it was time. The party had ended; they needed to go home now. He jumped off his seat and rushed over to the owner and the guards.

"This is my brother, I got him!" He shouted, and the guards looked at Bill carefully before letting go of George and backing off.

"Get him out, and he isn't welcomed back in my club! We don't let animals in here!" The owner said, pointing a finger at George.

Bill nodded and waited until the owner was gone before turning to his brother.

"Come on, let's get you out of here."

"Do we have to?"

Bill nodded and all the energy seemed to drain out of George at that moment. He sat down and slid off the bench, collapsing on his oldest brother.

The owner of the club returned, and Bill noticed he had Charlie with him.

"Is this one of yours?" The owner looked right pissed and Charlie looked like he had just been hit by a bus.

"Yes." Bill said, wondering what Charlie did. He was too busy focusing on George that he didn't see where Charlie had wandered off to.

"Found him puking on the bathroom floor. Out, the lot of you."

"He just had too much to drink; he's never been good with alcohol."

"I don't care, I want you out in the next five minutes or I'm calling the cops."

Bill's eyes widened and he nodded. He wrapped one of Charlie's arms around his shoulder, motioning for Ron and Ginny to help him with George. The two youngest Weasleys jumped up and rushed over to catch George before he collapsed on the floor.

The five Weasleys made their way through the crowd, who stepped aside to let the siblings pass through. They were out of the club and on their way to an alley. Bill didn't know how this was going to work. Charlie and George were in no shape to Apparate.

"I'm going to get Charlie home, can you get George home?" Bill asked his two youngest siblings, both of whom nodded.

"Thanks, and please don't mention any of this to Mum and Dad. I'd really appreciate that."

"No worries, mate. Go get him home." Bill smiled at Ron and Ginny before vanishing.

"Fred had fun." George slurred. Ron noticed he was half-awake, but barely hanging on.

"We need to get him home. Angelina's going to be so angry." Ginny said, tightening her hold on George. Ron nodded in agreement, holding his brother before turning on the spot.

The house was dark and seemingly empty when they landed in the living room. There was no sign of life, but Ron and Ginny knew this was most likely because Angelina was sleeping. It was close to midnight, after all. The youngest two Weasleys slowly made their way up the stairs, practically carrying George up the steps.

"George?" Angelina's voice could be heard from somewhere on the second floor.

"It's us!" Ginny called out, and Angelina was suddenly at the top of the stairs.

"What happened?" She gasped, and walked down a few steps to meet Ron and Ginny.

"Had too much to drink, got us kicked out of the club." Ron explained to his sister-in-law.

"Oh, George." Angelina helped him up the last few steps, relieving Ron and Ginny of their drunken brother.

"Redadfundoe." George mumbled, before throwing up then collapsing on the upstairs landing.

"I'll take care of him. You can go, thanks for bringing him home in one piece. You can use the Floo." Angelina's voice sounded relieved, but Ron and Ginny could tell she was pissed. Ron and Ginny nodded and headed back down the stairs, towards the living room.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting night." Ginny said when they were in front of the fireplace.

"Yeah, it's just too bad George got us kicked out."

Ginny nodded in agreement and took a handful of Floo powder.

"I'll see you soon, Ron."

"See you, Gin."

Ginny threw down the powder and the fireplace lit up in green flames.

"Potter Manor!" Ginny shouted, and she was gone in an instant.

Ron waited until the flames had cleared before grabbing a handful of Floo powder and stepped in the fireplace. He threw the powder on the grate and shouted "Castle in the Suburbs!", and vanished in a flash of green flames. After a minute of twisting, turning, and getting dizzying glimpses of other living rooms and offices, Ron landed in the living room of his and Hermione's house.

Ron wiped the soot off his clothes and took his shoes off before going upstairs. It had been a long night and he was ready for bed. He had fun, but he knew he was getting too old to be club-hopping. Even if he was only thirty-seven, he had a different kind of lifestyle now; a lifestyle that involved a wife, children, and work.

He rubbed his eyes and let out a large yawn as he approached Hugo's bedroom to check on him. Ever since he had been a baby, Hugo loved having his father tuck him in every night and read a story. Tonight, like a few other nights in his nine short years, Ron hadn't been able to do it. The nights he couldn't be there to tuck in Hugo and read him a bedtime story, Hermione had told him Hugo was stubborn and cried until got his way. Hopefully, that hadn't happened tonight.

Even though Hugo was nine now, and had long grown out of the infantile phase, there were still times when he reverted to infancy. Hermione had placed it to his knowing he'd be going so far away from his family for so long, even though he was just under a year away from Hogwarts and half his cousins would be there. Ron remembered her rambling on about psychology, some guy named Froy who came up with the craziest theories.

Ron peeked into the room, which was illuminated only by a nightlight, and smiled when he saw that his son was sound asleep. There was a light snore coming from the boy, something he had clearly gotten from Hermione. Ron inwardly laughed at this, both his kids got the snoring gene from Hermione. Ron _never_ snored. He shut the door softly and turned, heading down the hallway to his room. He rubbed his eyes as he turned the knob, slowly opening the door as to not disturb Hermione.

He sighed quietly, already beginning to feel a hangover coming on. He'd definitely have to take a potion to remedy that in the morning before going to hex George. Ron didn't care if George was in no fit shape to be bothered, this was all his fault. Bill had been right, they were too old by Muggle standards to be out club-hopping. Ron slowly began to change out of his clothes and into his pajamas, counting the seconds until he could finally crawl under the sheets and curl up against his wife. Though, pulling back the covers was one extra thing he'd have to do tonight.

Once he was in his pajamas, Ron collapsed on his bed with a groan. As quickly as he fell on his bed, though, he jumped right off. He turned around quickly and saw a figure on his side of the bed, but it wasn't Hermione. She always slept on the left side of the bed, and he could see her bushy hair sticking out from beneath the covers.

"Who the bloody hell is in my bed!" Ron cried, not caring if he woke Hermione and the bed's other occupant up.

* * *

Aha, cliffhanger. Who do you think was in Ron's bed? This is just a piece of creativity, I don't think anything like this has ever been done before. I'll make a Tumblr post about it, eventually.

Note: Froy = Freud. I've always imagined Hugo to have a bit of an Oedipal complex.


	2. Chapter 2

Here is chapter 2. I cried writing the Ronmione scene.

Hermione plays a very minor part in this story. It will focus more on Ron and, at some point, Ginny.

* * *

A flood of emotions began to stream through Ron Weasley as his wife and the bed's other occupant stirred. He was feeling a mixture of fury and hurt. Did his wife _really_ cheat on him? Who was the other guy? It better not have been Draco Malfoy; however, Ron had to admit that Draco did soften up a bit over the years. He was still an arrogant arse, but he wasn't rude to Ron and Hermione like he had been during their Hogwarts days. Still, Hermione would never sleep with him, or let him into the house he and his wife conceived two children in.

Ron stepped over to the light switch and flicked it on, turning around to see who it was in full light. Hermione had an expression of shock and horror written on her face, her bushy hair strewn all over the place, with her clothes littering the floor. Behind her, the man Ron thought was his best mate. But there he sat in bed with the woman he claimed to be his sister. Raven hair also a mess and emerald green eyes wide open.

"_Harry_?" Ron gasped, and shook his head. "No, no. Hermione, tell me this is a mistake."

But he knew there was very little chance that it was a mistake.

"Ron," Hermione breathed. "I- I didn't know you would be home so soon!"

"We got kicked out of the club." He snapped. Harry and Hermione looked at one another, covering their naked bodies.

"But whether I got home before midnight or at the crack of dawn isn't the point here, Hermione. The point is, my wife is in bed with another man. Not just any man, but Harry. The man who so adamantly claimed you to be like a sister to him. The man who, as far as I can tell, never showed an ounce of romantic interest towards you."

Hermione shook her head and began to sob, Harry rubbed her back soothingly.

"_Get_ your hand off my wife. Get out of bed, get dressed, and get the bloody hell out of my house."

"Ron, if you'd just let me explain." Harry said, withdrawing his hand from Hermione.

Ron shook his head furiously. It took what little energy he had left to stay rooted in the same spot.

"How do you explain this, Harry? How do you explain coming home at quarter to midnight to find your wife in bed with the man who is supposed to be your best mate, your brother-in-law? Get out."

Harry nodded, remaining silent and threw back the covers. Ron shut his eyes, blocking out the disturbing image as Harry got dressed. He steadied his breathing, counting to twenty. A few minutes passed before the sound of the door opening and closing was heard. Ron opened his eyes, and saw his wife was crying silently.

"Ron, I'm so sorry! Harry came over after work, we were talking and-"

"Stop. I don't want to hear it. Is this the first time you and Harry ever slept together?" Ron asked, thinking about all that time he spent being jealous of Harry and Hermione. Maybe he was right in feeling that way all those years ago.

When Hermione didn't answer immediately, Ron knew he was right.

"I can't believe this. We have two children, two beautiful and amazing children, Hermione! How could you do this to them, to me? Are Rose and Hugo even mine?"

Hermione glared at Ron, but Ron shrugged.

"What, it's crazy of me to even ask that question? I'm sorry, Hermione, but you just told me you've been shagging my best friend for years. So I think I'm entitled to ask if my children are even related to me by blood."

She let out a sigh and wiped her eyes.

"Hugo is." Hermione said quietly.

Ron could feel his heart breaking at this. Rose wasn't even his daughter, his gorgeous baby girl. The girl he vowed to protect, the girl whose bike he repaired, the girl who gave him silly drawings from primary school, the girl he told to stay away from Scorpius Malfoy, his baby girl.

And she wasn't even his.

"Are you serious, Hermione? How do you know?"

"I just knew, Ron. I know exactly when she was conceived; it was that week you and your family were visiting Charlie and Mia in Romania, all of you just learnt that Mia was pregnant with Elena."

"I can't believe you've kept this from me all these years. Does Harry know?"

Hermione nodded.

"He and I are the only ones who knows."

"I have to get out of here." Ron breathed and headed for the closet, pulling out his suitcase and a handful of clothes.

"Ron, please. Don't go."

"I have to, Hermione. I don't even know what this place is anymore. I don't know who you are anymore."

"I'm still me, Ron. This is our home, we've raised our children here."

"Hugo is my child, but Rose sure as hell isn't."

"So? Just because Rose isn't your daughter, does that really mean you no longer love her? I still do love you, Ron."

"Oh, I still love her. I'll always care for her as my own, but things are different now, Hermione. If you really loved me, you wouldn't have been shagging Harry behind mine and Ginny's back all these years."

By now, Ron had thrown clothes haphazardly into the suitcase and was zipping it up. Hermione was out of bed and halfway dressed when Ron turned to face her.

"I'm taking Hugo with me."

"Ron, please don't. I had a hard time getting him to sleep tonight. I had to give him cough syrup."

"Cough syrup, Hermione? He doesn't even have a cough! You just wanted to shag Harry so you knocked our son out!"

"Ron, I can't believe you'd say that!" Hermione cried.

"I can't believe you shagged Harry, carried his child and led me to think it was mine for almost twelve years!" Ron picked up his suitcase and left the room without another word. Where would he go now? He couldn't go see Ginny, Harry was most likely at Potter Manor. He couldn't go to the Burrow, his mother would begin questioning his presence and he just didn't feel like explaining anything tonight.

Ron stepped into Hugo's room and switched on the light, walking over to his son's bed and nudging him lightly. Hugo slowly stirred and opened his eyes.

"Dad?"

"Come on, Hugh. We're going."

"Where are we going? Why? What's going on?"

"No time for questions. I'll pack your bag, you get dressed."

Hugo looked at his father, confused. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched.

"Okay."

Ron ignored Hermione, who was standing at the doorway.

"You're not thinking clearly, Ron. You don't have to do this."

It only took a few minutes for Ron to pack Hugo's clothes and some of his prized belongings. Ron took his son's hand and guided him out of the bedroom, not looking at Hermione as he did so.

"Ron." Hermione followed after him, going down the stairs, and into the living room.

"You don't even know where you're going, Ron. It's midnight, it's too late to be going anywhere."

"I have a place in mind, Hermione. Don't worry about me. In fact, I think you stopped worrying a long time ago."

Ron turned and leant down to Hugo's level.

"All right, mate, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to pick you up and we're going to take a trip in the fireplace, all right?"

Hugo nodded.

"Is Mummy coming with us?"

Ron shook his head.

"Mummy has to stay here. It'll be fun, just us boys. What do you say?"

"Brilliant."

Ron chuckled and picked Hugo up, stepping into the fireplace. He grabbed a handful of Floo Powder, looked at Hermione one last time, and threw the material on the cold ground, shouting Shell Cottage as he did so and disappeared in a burst of green flames.


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry for taking some time to put this up! This fic is _not_ inspired by those Ron-bashing fics, though they did play a very minor part. I'm writing this purely to be original, when have you ever read a fic where Ron and Ginny suffer due to Hermione and Harry's infidelity? This is probably the first fic to explore that plot.

Don't own Harry Potter, just this original plot. 

* * *

Bill Weasley watched his small family carefully the next day. Fleur was currently in the kitchen preparing lunch for their son and nephew. Louis was walking around the house, showing Hugo how to pronounce each object in French. Like Dominique and Victoire, Louis was fluent in Fleur's native tongue. Before Victoire was born, Bill and Fleur agreed to raise their children with knowledge of both the French and English language. Hugo had French great-grandparents, but he never met them; they had died when Hermione was a teenager.

At the thought of Hermione, Bill turned to face the living room where his youngest brother was currently sulking. He had barely said more than a few sentences and ten words since he and Hugo landed in the fireplace just over thirteen hours earlier. He'd grumbled a few incoherent, but angry, words and then went upstairs with Hugo. It was only at Fleur's insistence that he came out of his room. Something big had happened, that much Bill knew, and he was going to get to the bottom of this. As much as he loved his youngest brother and nephew, they could not hide out at Shell Cottage forever.

"Ron." Bill walked over to his brother and joined him on the couch. Ron didn't look up and grumbled a greeting instead.

"I have no idea what happened since you left the alley last night and the time you landed in my fireplace this morning, but I am not going to let you sulk around like a child. So I am going to sit here and wait for you to say something because, Ron, you _are_ going to say something. I love you and Hugo, but I know there's something wrong when you appear in the middle of the night. Hugo's confused, he wants to know why his father is acting this way. Why are you acting this way, Ron? What happened after I left you?"

Ron let out a sigh and ran his head through his hair.

"After I left George with Angelina, I went home. I didn't suspect anything when I walked through the fireplace, or when I checked on Hugo. I go in my room, get changed, and just as I land on my bed, I find someone in my spot. It wasn't Hermione, she always sleeps on one side of the bed and that's where she was last night." Ron shook his head and buried his face in his hands.

"I don't know how I could have been so stupid!" He cried.

"Hermione had another bloke in your bed?" Bill asked; he was shocked by this revelation. Hermione had cheated on his baby brother, _how could she_?

"It was Harry. I tried my best not to lose it, and that isn't all. She's been shagging Harry for years, and Rose is his daughter."

"Are you serious?" He whispered, leaning close to his brother and placing his hand on Ron's arm. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, not one bit of it. But he knew Ron wouldn't lie about something like this, why would he?

"Afraid so. I had to get out of there, so I took Hugo and came here." Ron's voice cracked, and Bill could tell he was dangerously close to crying.

"I'm sorry, Ron."

"I love her, I don't understand how she could do this! And Harry, he's supposed to be my best mate. I feel completely betrayed." Ron sobbed; something that he rarely did. Like the rest of his siblings, Ron wasn't a big crier. They always put on a strong face and acted as if nothing was wrong. This was _definitely_ wrong.

Bill moved himself closer to Ron and wrapped an arm around his baby brother, holding him close. He hated seeing his brother in so much pain, and the last time he was in pain like this was just over twenty years earlier. Sudden realization dawned upon him, it was almost just like the last time. Though, the last time, Hermione had called him back to her. He never really grasped _how_ it happened, but it happened with a Deluminator.

"Daddy?" A small voice came from the doorway a few minutes later. Bill looked up to see Hugo holding a plate of sandwiches with Fleur and Louis by his side.

"Why are you crying?" Hugo asked, moving closer to the couch where his father sat with his face buried in his hands, shaking.

"Just feeling a bit sad." Ron forced a smile and Bill pulled away. Ron held out his arms to Hugo and sat him in his lap.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I don't like it when you're sad." Hugo stuck his bottom lip out, frowning.

"Don't worry about it, mate. Are those sandwiches for me?" Ron forced a smile.

Hugo nodded.

"I made them, Auntie Fleur helped."

Ron smiled weakly. This time it was a genuine smile, and he kissed his son's red hair, pulling back to look into the blue eyes that had _definitely_ been inherited by him.

"Thanks, that means a lot."

Ginny Potter couldn't believe what she was hearing at this very moment. No, she _refused_ to believe it. It just had to be a horrible, tactless joke. Probably something of George's doing, but she knew not even George would be this cold and heartless. His jokes and commentaries did get out of hand at times, and even hurtful, but never to this extend.

The sincerity and concern in their voices told her everything she needed to know, that this was _not_ a joke. Her husband, the one she vowed to love and cherish fifteen years ago, had been shagging Hermione behind her and Ron's backs for years. She didn't care how long it went on, she didn't care if it started in their fourth year at Hogwarts. They were married to other people now, Hermione to Ron and Harry to herself.

Without making her presence known to Harry and Hermione, Ginny headed straight for the fireplace. She had to get out of there, she just had to. She would pick Lily up from her parents' later, but now she needed to go see Bill. From what Harry and Hermione had been saying, Ron found out when he got home, but she didn't want to bother him yet. She couldn't believe they'd been so stupid.

She grabbed a handful of Floo Powder, stood in the fireplace, and shouted _Shell Cottage_!, throwing down the powder and disappeared in a flash of green. After a dizzying minute, Ginny found herself in the home her brother and his wife have been residing in for the past sixteen years. She brushed the soot off her and straightened her clothes, stepping out of the fireplace.

Bill appeared by her side a minute later, wrapping an arm around her. Ginny knew instantly that her eldest brother knew, Ron must have stopped by.

"I'm so sorry, Ginny." Bill whispered, holding her close. She bottled her emotions and tears the whole time she was listening in on Harry and Hermione's conversation, but everything fell apart at hearing her brother say those words. She let out a hysterical sob and clung onto his shirt like she used to when she was younger. The last time she had cried like this, clung to Bill like this, let her emotions out freely like this, felt so vulnerable was the summer after the Chamber of Secrets.

"I- I-" Ginny gasped in between sobs, but Bill hushed her.

"Ron told me. He went to the Burrow not too long ago."

Ginny pulled away from her brother and wiped her eyes.

"I have to go get Lily. I don't even know what to say to her. She has no clue about any of this, at least I don't think she does. And James and Albus. Oh!" Ginny collapsed on the couch, sobbing freely once again.

The couch shifted and a hand went on her back. Ginny hiccuped and looked at her brother.

"Why did this happen, Bill? I don't understand, I thought Harry loved me. What did I do to deserve this? I've been nothing but a loving wife and mother to him and the kids."

"I don't know, Ginny. I wish I had the answers for you." Bill said solemnly, holding his sister's hand. 


	4. Chapter 4

It was tough to write the scene with Ron, Hugo, Ginny, and Lily. I hope I did it well enough, let me know if I didn't! I was going to write the chapter differently, but then I started thinking about Lily and Hugo. These type of fics never take the kids into consideration. 

* * *

It was nearing dusk by now, and Ron had been at the Burrow for three hours. He was currently hiding out in his old room, avoiding his mother's questions. When he had appeared with Hugo, Molly immediately started questioning him on why he was there and the whereabouts of Hermione. It wasn't as if he never appeared at his old house without his wife, but today was the day his mum decided to have a problem with it.

After he walked past his mother, he went upstairs with Hugo and found Lily playing in Ginny's old room. He situated Hugo in there, setting them up with Exploding Snaps, and went up to his room. He hadn't been out since, and he wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon. He had a lot to think about now, what was he going to do? Where was he going to go? He couldn't go back to his and Hermione's house, not after he found her with Harry in _his_ bed.

There was a knock at his door and Ron grumbled. Did his mother not realize that he didn't want to be bothered? He didn't care if he was acting seventeen instead of thirty-seven, it was hard not to sulk when one just learnt his beloved wife had been cheating on him for well over a decade and his precious baby girl wasn't even related to him by blood.

"Go away, Mum. I'm not up for a talk!" Ron shouted, not moving from his bed.

"It's me." Ginny's voice could be heard on the other side of the door. Ron stood up and walked over to the door, pulling it open. Ron noticed her eyes were red and puffy, she had been crying.

"You know, don't you?"

Ginny nodded and wrapped her arms around her brother's waist, pulling him in for a hug.

"I'm sorry, Ginny. I would have told you last night, but I- I had to get out of there and Harry was already gone when I left." Ron said quietly, returning the hug.

"I can't believe they did this to us, Ron. What did we ever do to deserve this? Where did we even go wrong? We've been through so much, and then this has to happen? It isn't fair." Ginny cried quietly, wiping her eyes on her brother's shirt.

"We didn't do anything wrong, Ginny. I think we should get out of here before Mum comes up and sees us like this. But I have no idea where we'll go, I can't go back to that house. Not after last night."

Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs and the youngest two Weasley siblings pulled away from one another, hastily wiping their eyes. They let out a sigh of relief when they saw it wasn't their mother; it was Lily and Hugo. Ron looked at his pocket watch and realized that it was past dinnertime. He had completely forgotten to feed his own son!

"Hugo, I'm so sorry. I forgot all about the time, I'll get you something to eat."

"It's ok, Dad. Gran gave me and Lily dinner. But she does want you to stop sulking, come down acting like an adult, and eat your dinner." Hugo said bluntly, causing Ginny to laugh shortly and Ron's eyes to widen in shock.

"He's right. You've been up here crying like a baby all day." Lily said matter-of-factly.

"Lily, that's not polite." Ginny scolded her daughter.

Ron shook his head and put his hand on Hugo's shoulder, guiding him down the steps.

"Dad, why won't you tell me what's wrong? Did Mum do something bad?" Hugo asked, but Ron remained silent the rest of the way downstairs. Instead of going into the kitchen where he could smell food, he turned left and went into the living room. He took a seat on one of the couches and motioned for Hugo to sit next to him.

"Hugo, your mum is a brilliant witch. She was the brightest one in our class, and she just so happened to choose two lazy boys as her best friends. Those two lazy, but still bright, boys were myself and your Uncle Harry. We went through a lot together, we had our ups and downs, but we came out stronger than ever in the end. Or I thought we did."

"Lily needs to hear this, Ron." Ginny said from the doorway. Ron nodded and waited until Ginny and Lily were seated on the other couch. He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair.

"I loved your mum, Hugo. We fought all the time, but we always made up. It seems each fight we had was worse than the one before it, and every time we made up, we were closer than we had been."

"You said loved, past tense." Hugo noted.

Ron nodded.

"There are some things you can't recover from, Hugo. This is one of them."

"Why can't you, Uncle Ron?" Lily had been quiet since her mother reprimanded her, but she was just as curious as Hugo was now.

Ron looked at his sister for support, but she just nodded in encouragement. He knew he had to do this alone. None of this would be known had he not gotten home early the night before. If George hadn't gotten them kicked out of the club, he would've been back hours later, probably after Harry was gone.

"You know how Ginny and I went out last night for Uncle George's birthday?"

Lily and Hugo nodded.

"Mum had Uncle Harry over." Hugo said, confused.

"When people love each other, they want to get close. Even if they are married to other people, they don't care about their respective spouses. They'll find an opportunity to be alone."

"What does that mean?" Lily asked.

"It means my mum and your dad shagged last night." Hugo said, causing Ron and Ginny to groan.

"Why would they do that? Dad loves my mum, right, Mum?"

Ginny forced a smile.

"They have a long history, Lily. It's too complicated to explain, I'll tell you when you're older."

"That's what you always say, Mum. You'll tell me when I'm older, why not now?"

"Lily," Ron began, "I didn't even know about this and I'm supposed to be their best friend. Why did they do this for so long, how could they when they're married to me and your mum... These are questions I would love answers to for myself, and I'm sure your mum feels the same. But we may never find out. What's done is done, Ginny and I are devastated. It's not easy for us to be telling you this, you're our children and we love you. We don't want you to get hurt or see hurt."

"I've been seeing your hurt all day, Uncle Ron."

Ron let out a sigh and nodded.

"It's hard, Lily. The only thing Ginny and I can do now is move on."

"What's going to happen with Mum and Rose?"

"I don't know, Hugo. You can still see your mother if you want to. Do you still want to see her?"

Hugo shook his head.

"Not if she hurt you, Daddy. Mum is mean, and we should take Rose away from her."

Ron felt his throat thicken at this last part, the part about Rose. How was he going to tell Hugo that he and Rose didn't share the same father? Hugo would be devastated. As much as he and Rose argued and were at odds with one another, at the end of the day they were inseparable. It took Ron and Hermione weeks to get Hugo to stop sulking around after Rose went to Hogwarts.

"I'll talk to Rose about this, I trust you won't tell her."

Hugo shook his head.

"Not if you don't want me to."


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own Harry Potter, just this original plot._  
_

* * *

_Dear Rose,_ Ron began to write. He was currently sitting in the office of Weasley Wizard Wheezes for his lunch break. In between bites, he looked back at the piece of parchment in his hands. It had been a few weeks since Ron found his wife in bed with Harry, and Ron hadn't been back to the house with Hugo since except to pick up some of their belongings.

The Ministry granted him paid leave until he sorted his troubles out, but the truth was he didn't want to be around Harry and not in the same location as him or Hermione. He loved his job, but the pain was too much for him to bear and he knew he couldn't be a proficient Auror being near either one of them. George had offered Ron a job at his shop, doing just what he had done almost twenty years earlier.

With only two months left before Hogwarts closed for the summer, Ron knew he had to prepare Rose for the worst. There was going to be no easy way to tell her that her parents had separated and that her father wasn't her father; Hugo was just a half-brother, they only shared half of the same DNA. It was going to break her heart, Ron had no doubt about that.

_I can't believe your first year is about finished and your twelfth birthday is in less than a month! My baby girl is growing up too quickly. I know, I know, you don't want to hear any of this rubbish. You're probably busy preparing for your exams right now, I am certain you will get excellent marks on them. You do have your mother's brains, after all, Rosie. Speaking of your mother, there's something I have to tell you. It's not easy for me to tell you this and I wish I never had to, but I do. I want you to remember that I still love you, no matter what the truth is._

Ron let out a sigh, reading over what he had written so far. How was he going to tell her about this? There _was_ no easy way to tell a child that she wasn't her father's daughter and that her father was her uncle, her best friend's own father. He wondered if Albus and James found out yet. He was certain Ginny hadn't told him, but he didn't know about Harry. He knew Hermione hadn't told Rose, otherwise he would have gotten an Owl from her.

There was a knock at the door and Ron looked up, George stepped into the office and shut the door behind him. He pulled out a chair leaning against the wall and moved it towards the desk.

"Ron, Hermione is out there and she's demanding to speak to you. I tried telling her you weren't up for a chat, but she won't hear it."

Ron let out a sigh and leaned the chair back.

"Let her in."

"You sure?"

"Yes." Ron folded up the letter and put away the quill as George stood and left the room. A minute later, Hermione appeared, standing tentatively by the door.

"Hi, Ron."

"Hermione." Ron put his hands together and sat forward in his seat.

"Can I sit down?"

"Of course. How did you know I was here?"

"I asked around, you haven't been in the office for weeks. Why aren't you in the office, Ron? You have to think about Hugo, not just yourself."

Ron couldn't believe this, _Hermione_ of all people was telling him to think of their child.

"I _have_ been thinking about Hugo, Hermione." Ron snapped. "I've been working here, in the shop. George offered me a job and the Ministry has given me paid leave. Don't tell me to think about Hugo when you've been doing what you've been doing for almost thirteen years."

"I want to see Hugo, Ron. I have to see him," Hermione whispered. "He's my son too, Ron."

"Hugo doesn't want to see you, Hermione. I asked him, he said he didn't want to see you."

"What have you been doing to our son, Ron?" Hermione cried, standing up and towering over the desk. "Have you been feeding him rubbish about me? That's certainly low of you, Ron. I mean, I understand what I did was wrong, but what you're doing-"

"Stop!" Ron stood and looked at Hermione fiercely. "I have _not_ been feeding Hugo rubbish. I simply told him the truth, not everything but he knows enough to understand what happened. Don't compare this to what you did, Hermione. I'm _telling_ you the truth, unlike you. You lied, Hermione. You lied for Merlin knows how long about you and Harry. You led me to think Rose was my own daughter!"

There was a knock on the door and George opened it softly.

"Do you mind? The customers are asking questions, keep your voices down."

"Sorry, mate." Ron said, sitting back down. Hermione did the same and George left the room.

"Hermione," Ron began after a few minutes of silence. "Before you came in, I was working on a letter to Rose. Someone has to tell her where she came from. I think it would be best if it came from me, not you."

"Ron, we should tell her together."

Ron shook his head.

"I think she would take it better hearing it from me. I will tell her to write to you, but don't count on a good reaction from her. You know how Rosie gets, she can be quite dramatic when she wants to be. That's another reason I think it'd be better if she heard it from me."

"I'm sorry, Ron." Hermione wiped her eyes and Ron noticed that she had begun crying.

"I'm not ready to hear 'sorry', Hermione. I don't know if I will ever be. I have to get back to work in a few minutes, but I will have Hugo write to you. I will monitor what he writes, I promise it won't be too harsh. I should finish that letter to Rose."

Hermione nodded and stood up.

"As long as I hear from my son, Ron. That's all I ask for."

"I can't force him to write to you, Hermione; but I will make sure he gets a letter written."

"Thanks." Hermione said and left the office. Ron pulled out the parchment and quill, and resumed writing his letter to Rose.

_Hugo doesn't know about this, and I'd really appreciate if you didn't tell him. Rosie, I'm not your father. Your father is someone you've known all your life; your father is Harry. Yeah, I know what you're probably thinking and I can't believe it myself; nobody knows but us, I found out just a few weeks ago. Your Aunt Ginny knows too, I think it's best if you let her tell James and Albus about this. You're probably furious with your mother right now, and I don't blame you. You can write to either one of us if you've got any questions, which I am sure you do. I will always consider you to be like my daughter, Rosie. Nothing has changed._

Ron read over the letter and nodded confidently, satisfied with what he had written. There was no easy way to tell Rose, and this was the only way. It wouldn't be long before Hermione was back in his office yelling at him for what Rose had said to her. It was to be expected, though. Even though she wasn't a Weasley by blood, she still had the fiery temper that was characteristic of the Weasley family. He folded up the parchment and walked over to the cage where Fabian, George's owl, was currently resting.

"Fabian." Ron opened the cage door. Fabian hooted indignantly and hopped off his perch.

"I need you to deliver this to Rose at Hogwarts."

The owl looked at him skeptically, as if to say _why Rose_?

"George knows I'm using you. Now go." Ron attached the letter to the owl's leg and lifted him towards the window, where he flew out and into the brilliant blue sky.


End file.
